Inflatable protective packaging with self-sealing fill channel

ABSTRACT

Inflatable packaging with self-sealing fill channels having a first boundary layer, a second boundary layer, a first valve layer and a second valve layer are disclosed. The first and second valve layers are attached together to form a valve strip that has a plurality of valves and a lengthwise air channel in fluid communication with an entrance of each of the plurality of valves. Outermost, lengthwise edges of the first and second boundary layers are attached to each other and the valve strip is positioned between the first and second boundary layers with at least a portion of the lengthwise air channel not covered by the first and second boundary layers. A plurality of cross seams are formed in the first and second boundary layers and the portion of the valve strip positioned therebetween to define a plurality of inflatable cavities such as dunnage cavities or bubble cells.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/826,123, filed May 22, 2013, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to protective packaging and morespecifically to inflatable protective packaging with self-sealing fillchannels, which greatly reduce the complexity thereof.

BACKGROUND

It is well known in the art of inflatable protective packaging to fillthereof with air and then seal the protective packaging to retain theair therein. The inflatable protective packaging includes dunnage bagsand bubble wrap. However, inflatable protective packaging is typicallycomplicated or the machinery used to produce and fill the inflatableprotective packaging with air is also complicated. Complicatedinflatable protective packaging will require complicated machinery tofill thereof. A complicated inflation machine will not always produce aconsistent product, due to the complexity of the machine and alsovariations in the sheet material used to produce the inflatableprotective packaging.

Typically, a manufacturer of inflatable protective packaging provides acustomer with an inflation machine at no cost and sells the inflatableprotective packaging to the customer. Any problems with the inflationmachine is the manufacturer's responsibility and expense. It is to themanufacturer's advantage to have the simplest and most inexpensiveinflation machine to produce the inflatable protective packaging. Havinginexpensive inflation machinery makes it possible to sell the inflatableprotective packaging to smaller companies.

U.S. Patent Application No. 2011/0233101 to Baines discloses packagingmaterials and methods. U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,510 to Frayne et al.discloses an inflatable structure for packaging and associated apparatusand method. U.S. Pat. No. 8,360,641 to Kim discloses an air bag withcontinuous heat resistance material.

Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for inflatableprotective packaging with self-sealing fill channels, which greatlyreduce the complexity of the inflatable protective packaging.

SUMMARY

Inflatable protective packaging with self-sealing fill channels, whichgreatly reduce the complexity thereof, are disclosed. The inflatableprotective packaging with self-sealing fill channels includes a firstboundary layer, a second boundary layer, a first valve layer and asecond valve layer. The first and second valve layers may be formed froma single piece of folded over material. A plurality of patches of hightemperature resistance ink are printed on an inside surface of the firstor second valve layer, if heat sealing is used to attached the first andsecond valve layers together. One edge of the first and second boundarylayers are attached to each other with any suitable process. The firstand second valve layers are attached to each other to form a pluralityof valves and a lengthwise air channel. The first and second valvelayers form a valve strip.

The lengthwise air channel is formed adjacent the one edge of the valvestrip. The lengthwise air channel communicates with the plurality ofvalves.

The valve strip is placed between the first and second boundary layers.Opposing lengthwise edges of the first and second boundary layers areattached to the valve strip. The high temperature ink prevents thevalves from being sealed, when the opposing lengthwise edges of thefirst and second boundary layers are attached to the valve strip withheat sealing. A plurality of cross seams are formed in the first andsecond boundary layers and the first and second valve layers to create aplurality of dunnage cavities. A perforated line is formed in a middleof each cross seam to allow the plurality of dunnage bags to beseparated. A plurality of first bubble cell patterns and a plurality ofsecond bubble cell patterns are formed in the first and second boundarylayers. The plurality of first and second bubble cell patterns form aplurality of rows of bubble cells. Attachment of the first and secondboundary layers and the first and second valve layers may be implementedwith heat sealing, adhesive, ultraviolet adhesive, ultraviolet glue orany other suitable method. The dunnage cavities or bubble cells areinflated by flowing air through the lengthwise air channel. The air fromthe lengthwise air channel flows through each valve and into the row ofbubble cells or the dunnage cavity. Inflation of the row of bubble cellsor the dunnage cavity crimps the first and second valve layers, suchthat air cannot escape back into the lengthwise air channel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a valve strip for an inflatableself-sealing protective dunnage packaging formed from a first valvelayer and a second valve layer in accordance with a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the valve strip formed in accordance withFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an inflatable self-sealing protectivedunnage packaging formed from a first boundary layer, the valve strip ofFIG. 2, and a second boundary layer in accordance with a firstembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the inflatable self-sealing protectivedunnage packaging formed in accordance with FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the inflatable self-sealing protective dunnagepackaging of FIG. 7 taken along line 8-8.

FIG. 6 is an end view taken along line 8-8 after the dunnage cavity ofthe inflatable self-sealing protective dunnage packaging was inflated.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view cut across a width, transverse to line8-8 in FIG. 4, of the inflatable self-sealing protective dunnagepackaging after the dunnage cavity was inflated.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a valve strip for an inflatableself-sealing protective dunnage packaging formed from a first valvelayer and a second valve layer in accordance with a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the valve strip formed in accordance withFIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of an inflatable self-sealing protectivedunnage packaging formed from a first boundary layer, the valve strip ofFIG. 9, and a second boundary layer in accordance with a secondembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the inflatable self-sealing protectivedunnage packaging formed in accordance with FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an end view of the inflatable self-sealing protective dunnagepackaging of FIG. 7 taken along line 8-8.

FIG. 13 is an end view taken along line 12-12 after the dunnage cavityof the inflatable self-sealing protective dunnage packaging wasinflated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference now to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 7, there isshown inflatable self-sealing protective dunnage packaging 100. Withreference to FIGS. 1-3, the inflatable self-sealing protective dunnagepackaging 100 preferably includes a first boundary layer 10, a secondboundary layer 12, and a valve strip 24 as shown in FIG. 3, and thevalve strip 24 includes a first valve layer 14 and a second valve layer16 as shown in FIG. 1. The first and second boundary layers 10, 12 andfirst and second valve layers 14, 16 are preferably fabricated from anysuitable plastic sheet material.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first and second valve layers 14, 16may be formed from a single piece of folded over material or twodiscrete sheets of material as shown in FIG. 1. If the first and secondvalve layers 14, 16 are formed of the single folded piece, the folddefines an outermost, lengthwise edge of each of the first and secondvalve layers 14, 16 and the outermost, lengthwise edge of a lengthwiseair channel 25. If the first and second valve layers 14, 16 are formedof two discrete sheets, then the outermost, lengthwise edge 27 a, 27 bof each are attached together to form an outermost channel seal 29.“Outermost” and “innermost” as used herein to describe opposinglengthwise edges of a layer is relative to the position of such edges inthe assembled inflatable self-sealing dunnage packaging as seen in FIG.4 for the first embodiment and as seen in FIG. 11 for the secondembodiment.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of patches of resistanceink 20 are printed on an inside surface of the first or second valvelayers 14, 16. The resistance ink 20 in one embodiment is a hightemperature resistance ink and is used if the first and second valvelayers 14, 16 are to be attached to one another by heat sealing. Anothersuitable process for attaching the layers together include using anadhesive such as an ultraviolet adhesive, but is not limited thereto.The resistance ink 20 for an adhesive process is one that prevents theadhesive from binding the first and second valve layers 14, 16 together.

Using one of the processes described above, the first and second valvelayers 14, 16 are further attached together to form a plurality ofvalves 22, which together with the fold or the outermost channel seal 29form a lengthwise air channel 25. The plurality of valves 22 are definedby a plurality of valve seals 31. Each valve seal 31 is generallyU-shaped or generally V-shaped and has an open end 34 thereof facing aninnermost, lengthwise edge 33 a, 33 b of each of the first and secondvalve layers 14, 16 and a closed end 35 facing, but spaced a distanceapart from, the outermost channel seal 29 (or fold). The plurality ofvalves 22 may be defined by all generally U-shaped seals, all generallyV-shaped seals, or a combination thereof. The closed ends 35 of thevalves seals 31 collectively and the outermost channel seal 29 (or afold) form the lengthwise air channel 25, which is adjacent theoutermost channel seal 29 (or a fold) of the first and second valvelayers 14, 16. The lengthwise air channel 25 is in fluid communicationwith the entrance 36 of each of the plurality of valves 22. It ispreferable for each valve 22 to have a tapered shape with a wideentrance 36 and a narrow exit 37, but other shapes may also be used. Asseen in FIG. 2, the taper shape is defined by two smooth continuousangled seals defining opposed walls of the valve. The valve seals 31 arepositioned to locate the entrance 36 of each valve at a patch ofresistance ink 20, which in fact defines the opening in fluidcommunication with the lengthwise air channel 25. Each patch ofresistance ink 20 may be shaped and/or sized to extend across the entireentrance 36, substantially across the entrance 36, or across at leastabout half of the entrance 36. “Substantially across” as used hereinmeans more than 51% and more preferably more than 65-75%.

With reference to FIG. 3, the valve strip 24 is placed between the firstand second boundary layers 10, 12 with an outer portion O left uncoveredor exposed. Innermost, lengthwise edges 38 a, 38 b of the first andsecond boundary layers 10, 12 are attached to the valve strip 24, withany of the suitable processes described above. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4,the lengthwise channel seal 29 (or a fold) of the valve strip 24 is notflush with the innermost, lengthwise edges 38 a, 38 b of the first andsecond boundary layers 10, 12, as such the lengthwise air channel 25 isformed by only the two plys of material provided by the first and secondvalve layers 14, 16. This provides the advantage of reducing thematerial cost of the first and second boundary layers 10, 12 (i.e., lessmaterial is needed for these two layers) and facilitates insertion of aninflation pin into the lengthwise air channel 25 by providing a moreflexible air channel (more layers or plys renders the air channel 25less flexible).

Still referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first and second boundary layers10, 12 are positioned over an inner portion I of the valve strip 24 andare sealed thereto by a first lengthwise cavity seal 39 a positioned totransect the patches of resistance ink 20, which prevent the lengthwisecavity seal 39 a from sealing the valves 22 closed. The lengthwisecavity seal 39 a may be at or proximate, and attach, the innermostlengthwise edges 38 a, 38 b of the first and second boundary layers 10,12 to the valve strip 24 and may be aligned with or parallel andproximate the portion of the valve seals 31 that define the closed ends35 thereof. A plurality of cross seams 26 are formed in the first andsecond boundary layers 10, 12 and the first and second valve layers 14,16 to create a plurality of dunnage cavities 28. An individual crossseam 21 includes two spaced apart seams extending generallyperpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the inflated self-sealingdunnage packaging and define a middle 26 therebetween. A perforated line30 may be formed in the middle 26 of each cross seam 21 to allow theplurality of dunnage bags to be separated. The perforated line 30 may bepresent in the middle 26 of every cross seam 21, in every other crossseam, or in a selected number of cross seams, which may have a periodicoccurrence or may be machine tailored to produce strips of inflatedself-sealing dunnage packaging of varying overall length. Additionally,either a fold (not shown) defining or a second lengthwise cavity seal 39b at or proximate the outermost lengthwise edges 23 a, 23 b of the firstand second boundary layers 10, 12 finalizes the formation of the dunnagecavities 28.

With reference to FIGS. 5-7, the dunnage cavities 28 are inflated byflowing air through the lengthwise air channel 25. The air from thelengthwise air channel 25 flows through each valve 22 and into theplurality of dunnage cavities 28. Inflation of each dunnage cavity 28has the result of forming a kink 32 in the first and second valve layers14, 16, which prevents air from escaping back into the lengthwise airchannel 25.

With reference now to the FIGS. 8-13, and particularly to FIG. 11, thereis shown an inflatable self-sealing bubble packaging 200. With referenceto FIGS. 8-10, the inflatable self-sealing bubble packaging 200preferably includes a first boundary layer 40, a second boundary layer42, and a valve strip 24 as shown in FIG. 10, and the valve strip 54includes a first valve layer 44 and a second valve layer 46 as shown inFIG. 8. The first and second boundary layers 40, 42 and first and secondvalve layers 44, 46 are preferably fabricated from any suitable plasticsheet material using any of the processes discussed above.

The valve strip 54 of FIG. 9 is formed similarly as described above withrespect to FIGS. 1 and 2 and may include a lengthwise channel seal 49defining (or a fold defining) or proximate the outermost, lengthwiseedges of the first and second valve layers 44, 46. Here, a plurality ofpatches of resistance ink 50 are printed closer together than in thefirst embodiment 100. The patches of resistance ink 50 are located on aninside surface of the first or second valve layer 44, 46 with anarrangement suitable for making bubble packaging, which tend to havenarrower dunnage cavities, referred to herein as a plurality of rows ofbubble cells 60. As shown in FIG. 8 the arrangement of the patches ofresistance ink 50 includes leaving a bigger space between adjacentpatches at a location selected for formation of a cross seal 71 thatdefines a middle 72 for placement of a perforated line 64 as shown inFIG. 11. The perforated line 64 allows the user to select a desiredlength of the bubble packaging 200.

Similarly to the explanation provided above for the first embodiment,the valve strip 54 is formed by attaching the first and second valvelayers 44, 46 together to form a plurality of valves 52 and a lengthwisevalve channel 55. The plurality of valves 52 are formed by a pluralityof valve seals 51 that are generally U-shaped, generally V-shaped, or acombination thereof. As seen in FIG. 9, the difference in the valveseals 51 for forming bubble packaging 200 is the closeness of the valveseals, thereby resulting in a majority of the plurality of the valveseals 51 being more generally V-shaped. The valve seals 51 include aminority of generally U-shaped valve seals positioned at locationsselected for forming cross seals 71, i.e., being wider valve seals toprovide enough space between the two valves that it partially definesfor the formation of the perforated line 64. The lengthwise air channel55 is in fluid communication with the entrance 56 of each of theplurality of valves 52. In one embodiment, each valve 52 has a taperedshape with a wide entrance 56 and a narrow exit 57, but other shapes mayalso be used. As seen in FIG. 9, the taper shape is defined by twosmooth continuous angled seals defining opposed walls of the valve. Thevalve seals 51 are positioned to locate the entrance 36 of each valve ata patch of resistance ink 50, which in fact defines the opening in fluidcommunication with the lengthwise air channel 55. Each patch ofresistance ink 50 may be shaped and/or sized to extend across the entireentrance 56, substantially across the entrance 56, or across at leastabout half of the entrance 56.

With reference to FIG. 10, the valve strip 54 is placed between thefirst and second boundary layers 40, 42 with an outer portion O leftuncovered or exposed. Innermost, lengthwise edges 68 a, 68 b of thefirst and second boundary layers 40, 42 are attached to the valve strip54, with any of the suitable processes described above. As seen in FIGS.10 and 11, the lengthwise channel seal 49 (or a fold) of the valve strip54 is not flush with the innermost, lengthwise edges 68 a, 68 b of thefirst and second boundary layers 40, 42, as such the lengthwise airchannel 55 is formed by only the two plys of material provided by thefirst and second valve layers 44, 46. This provides the advantage ofreducing the material cost of the first and second boundary layers 40,42 (i.e., less material is needed for these two layers) and facilitatesinsertion of an inflation pin into the lengthwise air channel 55 byproviding a more flexible air channel (more layers or plys renders theair channel 55 less flexible).

Still referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the first and second boundary layers40, 42 are positioned over an inner portion I of the valve strip 54 andare sealed thereto by a first lengthwise cavity seal 79 a positioned totransect the patches of resistance ink 50, which prevent the lengthwisecavity seal 79 a from sealing the valves 52 closed. The lengthwisecavity seal 79 a may be at or proximate, and attach, the innermostlengthwise edges 68 a, 68 b of the first and second boundary layers 40,42 to the valve strip 54 and may be aligned with or parallel andproximate the portion of the valve seals 51 that define the closed ends55 thereof. A plurality of cross seams 71 and a plurality of firstbubble cell pattern cross seams 56 and second bubble cell pattern crossseams 58 and either a fold (not shown) defining or a second lengthwisecavity seal 79 b at or proximate the outermost lengthwise edges 73 a, 73b of the first and second boundary layers 40, 42 finalizes the formationof the plurality of rows of bubble cells 60. Each row of bubble cellsinclude a plurality of bubble cells 62. The bubble cells 62 definedbetween the first and second bubble cell pattern cross seams 56, 58 aregenerally hexagonally-shaped in FIG. 11, but other shapes may be used.As seen in FIG. 11, the first bubble cell pattern cross seam 56 and thesecond bubble cell pattern cross seam 58 may be mirror images of oneanother and the rows of bubble cells 60 are formed by an alternatingarray of first and second bubble cell pattern cross seams 56, 58. Thisconfiguration places individual bubble cells 62 in adjacent rows atstaggered, offset positions along the length of the rows.

An individual cross seam 71 includes two spaced apart seams extendinggenerally perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the inflatedself-sealing bubble packaging 200 and define a middle 72 therebetween. Aperforated line 64 may be formed in the middle 72 of each cross seam 71to allow the bubble packaging to be separated in to selected lengths.The perforated line 64 may be present in the middle 72 of every crossseam 71, in every other cross seam, or in a selected number of crossseams, which may have a periodic occurrence or may be machine tailoredto produce strips of inflated self-sealing bubble packaging of varyingoverall length.

With reference to FIG. 13, the plurality of bubble cells 62 are inflatedby flowing air through the lengthwise air channel 55. The air from thelengthwise air channel 55 flows through each valve 52 and into the rowof bubble cells 60. Inflation of each row of bubble cells 60 has theresult of forming a kink 66 in the first and second valve layers 44, 46,which prevents air from escaping back into the lengthwise air channel55.

During assembly of the valve strips 24, 54 the patches of resistance ink20, 50 are applied to one of the valve layers and thereafter the valvelayers are attached to one another. The outermost channel seams 29, 49may be formed before the valve seals 31, 51 are formed or may be formedsimultaneously. In any embodiment having a fold rather than an outermostchannel seam, the fold is formed after the patches of resistance ink areapplied but before the valve seals 31, 51 are formed. Once the valvestrip 24, 54 is formed, it is inserted between the first and secondboundary layers 10, 12 or 40, 42 as described above. If the first andsecond boundary layers have a fold rather than the second lengthwisecavity seal 39 b or 79 b, the fold may be formed before or after theinsertion of the valve strip therebetween, but before is likely to bemore easily manufacturable in a continuous process.

After the valve strip is inserted in the desired position between thefirst and second boundary layers, the cross seams 21 or the cross seams71 and first and second bubble pattern cross seams 56, 58 and the firstlengthwise cavity seal 39 a, 79 a and the second lengthwise cavity seal39 b, 79 b, if present, are formed simultaneously, preferably in acontinuous manufacturing process. In another embodiment, these seals maybe formed sequentially in any order.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the invention inits broader aspects, and therefore, the aim in the appended claims is tocover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An inflatable dunnage packaging with self-sealingfill channels, comprising: a first boundary layer having an innermostedge and an opposing outermost edge; a second boundary layer having aninnermost edge and an opposing outermost edge, wherein the outermostedge of the second boundary layer is attached to the outermost edge ofthe first boundary layer; a first valve layer; and a second valve layerattached to the first valve layer to form a valve strip, the valve stripcomprising: a plurality of valves; and a lengthwise air channel in fluidcommunication with an entrance of each of the plurality of valves;wherein the valve strip is positioned between the first and secondboundary layers with at least a portion of the lengthwise air channelnot covered by the first and second boundary layers; wherein a pluralityof cross seams formed in the first and second boundary layers and theportion of the valve strip positioned between the first and secondboundary layers define a plurality of inflatable cavities.
 2. Theinflatable dunnage packaging of claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof patches of resistance ink on an inside surface of the first valvelayer or the second valve layer positioned to define an entrance to eachof the plurality of valves.
 3. The inflatable dunnage packaging of claim2, further comprising a first lengthwise cavity seal in the first andsecond boundary layers and the portion of the valve strip positionedbetween the first and second boundary layers which is positioned totransect the patches of resistance ink.
 4. The inflatable dunnagepackaging of claim 3, wherein the resistance ink is a high temperatureresistance ink and the first lengthwise cavity seal is a heat seal. 5.The inflatable dunnage packaging of claim 2, wherein at least one of theplurality of valves has a tapered shape from the entrance to the exit.6. The inflatable dunnage packaging of claim 1, wherein the first andsecond valve layers are formed from a single piece of material foldedinto two layers.
 7. The inflatable dunnage packaging of claim 1, whereinthe first and second boundary layers are formed from a single piece ofmaterial fold into two layers.
 8. An inflatable bubble packaging withself-sealing fill channels, comprising: a first boundary layer having aninnermost edge and an opposing outermost edge; a second boundary layerhaving an innermost edge and an opposing outermost edge, wherein theoutermost edge of the second boundary layer is attached to the outermostedge of the first boundary layer; a first valve layer; and a secondvalve layer attached to the first valve layer to form a valve strip, thevalve strip comprising: a plurality of valves; and a lengthwise airchannel in fluid communication with an entrance of each of the pluralityof valves; wherein the valve strip is positioned between the first andsecond boundary layers with at least a portion of the lengthwise airchannel not covered by the first and second boundary layers; wherein aplurality of cross seams formed in the first and second boundary layersand the portion of the valve strip positioned between the first andsecond boundary layers define a plurality of inflatable bubble cells inat least the first and second boundary layers.
 9. The inflatable bubblepackaging of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of patches ofresistance ink on an inside surface of the first valve layer or thesecond valve layer positioned to define an entrance to each of theplurality of valves.
 10. The inflatable bubble packaging of claim 9,further comprising a first lengthwise cavity seal in the first andsecond boundary layers and the portion of the valve strip positionedbetween the first and second boundary layers which is positioned totransect the patches of resistance ink.
 11. The inflatable bubblepackaging of claim 10, wherein the resistance ink is a high temperatureresistance ink and the first lengthwise cavity seal is a heat seal. 12.The inflatable bubble packaging of claim 9, wherein at least one of theplurality of valves has a tapered shape from the entrance to the exit.13. The inflatable bubble packaging of claim 8, wherein the first andsecond valve layers are formed from a single piece of material foldedinto two layers.
 14. The inflatable bubble packaging of claim 8, whereinthe first and second boundary layers are formed from a single piece ofmaterial folded into two layers.
 15. The inflatable bubble packaging ofclaim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of bubble cells has agenerally hexagonal shape.
 16. A method for assembling an inflatableprotective packaging, the method comprising: providing a valve striphaving a plurality of valves and having a lengthwise air channel influid communication with an entrance of each of the plurality of valves;positioning a portion of the valve strip between a first boundary layerand a second boundary layer with at least a portion of the lengthwiseair channel not covered by the first and second boundary layersattaching the first and second boundary layers and the valve striptogether with a first lengthwise cavity seal that transects theplurality of valves in the valve strip and at least a portion of aplurality of cross seams; wherein the plurality of cross seams alsoattach a portion of the first and second boundary layers to one anotherand define a plurality of inflatable cavities.
 17. The method of claim16, further comprising forming the valve strip by: applying a pluralityof patches of resistance ink to an inside surface of at least one of thefirst valve layer or the second valve layer; and attaching the firstvalve layer to the second valve layer with a plurality of valve sealswherein adjacent valve seals define one of the plurality of valves. 18.The method of claim 16, further comprising providing the first andsecond boundary layers as separate sheets of material; and attaching thefirst and second boundary layers together with a second lengthwisecavity seal proximate an outermost, lengthwise edge of each of the firstand second boundary layers.
 19. The method of claim 16, furthercomprising providing the first and second boundary layers as a singlepiece of material and folding the single piece of material to define anoutermost, lengthwise edge of the inflatable protective packaging. 20.The method of claim 16, wherein the inflatable cavities are dunnagecavities or bubble cells.